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A federal rule could stick Alaskans with abandoned-well cleanup costs
The BLM wants to slash the cleanup bonds oil companies post before drilling on federal land — raising the odds taxpayers, not operators, foot the bill for abandoned Alaska wells.

M4.2 earthquake shakes area west of Hope
Shake shake shake

ADF&G opens comment on three federal fishery disaster spend plans
Alaska Fish and Game is taking public comment on how to spend three federal fishery disaster grants, but hasn't yet posted listening session dates or details on the total money involved.

A plane flipped at Knik-Goose Bay, but everyone walked away uninjured
A plane flipped onto its back during a hard landing at Knik-Goose Bay on June 24, but all occupants walked away uninjured.

A Ketchikan stabbing, and the jail violence the public rarely sees
A man at the Ketchikan jail is charged with stabbing another inmate with pencils — a rare public glimpse of the kind of violence that is common behind bars and rarely reported.

Willow man, 85, missing since June 20; troopers seek tips
Alaska State Troopers seek tips on 85-year-old Willow resident missing since June 20; call (907) 352-5401 with information.

NSRAA shuts Southeast Cove, Crawfish Inlet to common-property chum all season
NSRAA closed Southeast Cove and Crawfish Inlet to common-property chum fishing all season, cutting purse seine access at two northern Southeast harvest areas.

Starry Fire hits 70% containment; wetting rain expected Friday night
Starry Fire near Anderson hit 70% containment Friday as rain moves in, dropping evacuation status from GO to READY.

A small fire near the Taylor Highway, and how Alaska fights it
A lightning-sparked fire is burning just off the Taylor Highway near Chicken — small, but close enough to defend a bridge and cabins while the rest is left to burn.

Two Delta Junction wildfires in monitor status; two near full containment
Over here, you got two fires. Over here you got two fires. That's four fires. What are you gonna do with four fires? Maybe just stick to two fires.

Nome man indicted on 47 counts of sexual abuse spanning 16 years
A Bethel grand jury indicted a former Nome foster parent on 47 counts of sexual abuse. State troopers believe more victims exist.

Trooper stop near Glennallen nets fentanyl charge, felon-with-firearm arrest
Bad boys, bad boys. what you gonna do?

A judge says Alaska can't keep the second Dan Sullivan off the Senate ballot
A judge put the second Dan Sullivan on the GOP Senate primary ballot, beside the senator he's named like. The state had no "good-faith" rule to keep him off.

Richardson Highway off-ramp to Mitchell Expressway closes Saturday
Alaska DOT closes the Richardson Highway off-ramp to Mitchell Expressway on Saturday for routine maintenance.

Mountain Village airport gets federally funded snow removal building
Alaska is replacing Mountain Village Airport's snow removal building with a 5 to 10 million dollar federally funded project to keep the runway clear through winter.

North Pacific Fisheries Management Council limit golden king crab catch limits
We're you planning on eating all that crab on your plate? No no, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be pushy or anything, I was just curious.

Alaska's gas-pipeline bill now carries a tax on Hilcorp and others
A permanent tax on pass-through oil companies like Hilcorp is riding inside Alaska's gas-pipeline bill — and it kicks in by 2028 whether the pipeline gets built or not.

State economist: even with tax breaks, the gas line barely works
Even with the Senate's tax breaks, Alaska's gas project still costs more to make than Asia pays for it — and one lawmaker put it bluntly: "It seems like they don't work."

Alaska's gas-line tax bill stalls in committee
Lawmakers writing Alaska's gas-line tax deal voted down both versions of the bill — now they need special authority to build a compromise from the pieces.

A leaked plan to fire Alaska's gas-line developer surfaces in Juneau
A "stolen" state document laying out how Alaska could fire Glenfarne from its $44B gas line leaked — and the developer says it's now wondering whether Alaska can keep a secret.

Juneau fills its airport, harbor and ski-area boards
Juneau, the only U.S. capital you can't drive to, just appointed 11 unpaid volunteers to oversee its airport, harbors and ski hill — all without a single objection.

Kasilof man leads troopers on 4-wheeler chase, caught with 2017 felony warrants
Bryan Gheen, 50, of Kasilof fled a traffic stop on a four-wheeler Friday night and was arrested near Soldotna with felony warrants dating to 2017.

Alaska's new ethics law puts legal teeth behind gift-travel rules
Alaska's rewritten ethics law took effect June 24 without Dunleavy's signature. Its big change: gift-funded travel now needs a documented purpose, or you repay it.

A refusal to explain a gift-funded trip exposed a hole in Alaska's ethics rules
A legislator and a staffer took a gift-funded Arctic Winter Games trip, then wouldn't explain why — exposing that the ethics committee had no power to make them.

Alaska's ethics committee wants out of harassment training so it can get back to ethics
Alaska's ethics committee voted to hand off harassment training, saying it's crowded out real ethics instruction. The training continues — just not under them.

A pass-through tax, not the pipeline, is the real fight in Juneau
A conference committee spent two days on Alaska's $44B gas line, and the sharpest fight was over a pass-through tax on Hilcorp that doesn't need the pipeline to exist.

Kenai's quiet stake in the gas-line bill
Only Kenai Borough's school-funding bill changes under the gas-line tax legislation — but the state's own modeling says the increase might sunset before it ever lands.

A quiet change to how Alaska's bird seasons get set
The feds are slowing how often they rewrite migratory bird hunting rules — a wonky change that lands hardest in Alaska, the only state with a legal subsistence spring hunt.

Dunleavy vetoes nearly $90 million but leaves school funding intact
Gov. Dunleavy vetoed nearly $90 million from Alaska's budget, cutting increases for child care, Medicaid and local aid while leaving core school funding intact.

An ethics panel found probable cause that Rep. Sarah Vance misused her office to pressure a newspaper
An ethics panel found probable cause Rep. Sarah Vance used state resources to pressure the Homer News, which then pulled the article and dropped the reporter's byline.

On Admiralty Island, undoing the clearcuts at Cube Cove
The Forest Service closed part of Admiralty Island while crews blast out logging-era debris at Cube Cove — undoing old clearcut damage to give the salmon their streams back.

Departing Kodiak assemblyman warns: prepare for the Coast Guard boom
Kodiak Assemblyman Dave Johnson resigned with a warning to prepare for incoming Coast Guard icebreakers and fix housing. The Assembly will appoint his replacement July 16.

Weekend rain could push Interior Alaska rivers to a rare high
Rain starting Saturday evening could push Interior Alaska rivers to levels seen only once every 5 to 10 years — a warning to anyone recreating near the water.

Federal money built Alaska's recent growth — now it's receding fastest here
Federal dollars drove about half of Alaska's economic growth since 2015. Now the federal workforce is shrinking faster here than almost anywhere — and rural Alaska feels it most.

Anchorage approved three ice-arena contracts. The office that oversees them has one employee.
Anchorage approved three ice-arena contracts — then admitted the office overseeing them has one employee and no finalized policy. Audits had flagged the gap before.

Kodiak Assembly weighs new revenue and unlocks unused savings
Kodiak's assembly worked both ends of its budget: a possible tax on nonresidents who take most of its deer, and a discount account it had but never used.

The number that quietly sets the state budget: a barrel of oil
Alaska's budget is a bet on oil — and the state's own forecast is banking on crude leaping to $91 a barrel by summer, so "coming out ahead" rides on a guess, not a high price.

The state wants this gravel pit to be permanent.
The state wants to make a Richardson Highway gravel pit permanent — and this 22-day comment window is the public's only formal say over how it's run, now and indefinitely.

A Florida company wants to expand a big offshore oil unit on the edge of ANWR
A Florida company wants to expand an offshore oil unit on the edge of ANWR — and the state tagged it "approved" before comments even opened. Weigh in by July 21.

Storm-hit Alaska businesses have until July 22 to seek recovery loans
Small businesses and nonprofits in 13 storm-hit Western and Northern Alaska communities have until July 22 to apply for low-interest federal disaster recovery loans.
